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I dropped my prices a little bit, I hope you don't mind:) You can see the new list at the 'your investment' tab.Also, I just realized that my company email is being a little difficult. Apparently I never got a few inquiries and that makes me angry. I just found a completely random folder full of unread messages!

So if you contacted me and haven't heard back from me, please try sending me another email:julia@jlorenedesign.com

****update as of Saturday night: just to make things MORE exciting, the server for my site is down. Why you ask? A transformer caught fire in the data center of the website company. Who knows when this will be resolved, but don't send me any emails to the above listed address until it's fixed, okay? Try jules5.27.07 at gmail if you need me. And I guess you'll have to wait to see the new price list. Ugh.*****

****Sunday night: they are trying to get it all up and running but still no luck. Apparently this is a really rare event but nobody was hurt, so that is good. It's funny to read some of the hard core photographers ready to cut someone over this whole debacle:) Hang in there, and check back in a day or two to see my prices. AND you might have a new little example album to view [ahem, San Diego trip, ahem]****

We started the day with a bang and our favorite meal of the day: brunch! We found this cozy little place in downtown La Jolla called Cody's and then discovered it's well-known for it's brunch menu. It was pouring down rain [of course!] and we had to drown away our sorrows in some fabulous food. It was not my first round of pancakes on our trip but this picture is worth showing because they were quite possibly in the Top Five Buttermilk Pancakes category. And you know I love me some pancakes--especially the blueberry variety.

Next we traveled over the Coronado Bridge to see the island and hotel. Pretty cool but it would've been prettier with some sunshine. Here is the famous hotel:

And here we are on the beach yet again. I felt like taking this exact picture over and over by the beach would surely lead to sunny weather, and ironically I was correct [more to come].

Oh, and another 'starter home' just our price on Coronado Island. Guarantee this one is over 6 million. SIX MILLION DOLLARS!!!! My midwestern mind can't take the insanity. And on the topic of expenses, San Diego [or maybe La Jolla] opened my eyes to expensive cars that I never knew existed. Not that I really noticed, but Nate pointed them out to me as we passed. For instance, we saw several Mercedes that Nate later Googled to see a $150,000 price tag. A few Bentleys [aren't they over 100k, too?], and some kind of car called an Aston Martin[ probably a ridiculous amount, too]. Apparently the people of La Jolla have money coming out their ears with their million dollar homes and hundred-thousand dollar cars. Sickening, isn't it?

Moving on, this picture summarizes how I felt about the weather at this point in our trip. I was shivering and cold and wearing the same stupid fleece every day. You try not to pull up your hood in dismay! But then, something miraculous happened. We drove back to the hotel and the clouds parted. The sun shone down on our heads as to say, "Here I am, you big Wisconsin babies. Wanna come out and play now?" And we did. It was only 63 degrees but finally sunny and by God, I was going to wear the bikini I brought on our trip. So we went to the hotel pool and 'laid out.' I use the term loosely because normally I don't shiver while lounging at the pool and my normal minimum temp for donning a bikini is 80 degrees. So yeah, I lowered my standards in the name of a tan---some kind of physical evidence proving we did visit California.

And you can guess what happened next: laying out in the 63 degree sun for two hours burnt us. We were red as the Wisconsin badgers. And it served us right. Who did we think we were exposing our albino northern skin to the California sun? I swear I used to tolerate basking in the sun for hours upon hours, only to emerge with a bronze glow. And now I'm apparently doomed to a life of white versus red skin, no option for bronze.

Anywho, for our last night out [and it was still a little sunny!] we splurged and went to George's in La Jolla. It's an award winning restaurant and well deserving of the hype. Here I am drinking my California Lemonade, another profile pic in the making:

San Diego is known for their fish tacos and I convinced my anti-pescado husband to try some of the best. And George's did not disappoint:Did I mention that this restaurant overlooks the ocean? Because it does, and this is what I call a REAL sunset:

And here we are, the happy couple....all fried and smiling. Notice our faces were not so bad [gotta love SPF in our moisturizers] but our poor chests and arms leave something to be desired:This is probably my new favorite picture of all times. In fact, it's the new background for our computer. I like how there are still some dark clouds lingering around to remind us of what our trip was really like:You've all seen the typical 'bridal party stick their shoes together for a shot" picture, right? I thought this particular parking spot warranted such a pose. Nate did not get it but he lived, and now our wedding date was fully represented:)And to end this madness, I leave you with a shocker: my sunburn. This image cannot fully encompass the magnitude of redness. But if you look closely at my [disgustingly long] arms you'll see the fabulous line between white and red. I apologize for the muscle-y neck in this picture but you get the idea.

I decided to forgo the matching picture of Nate's sunburn. I have to draw the line somewhere and showing my husband half naked is it. But trust me, his was just as bad.

And for those of you worried about my health in general [come on, you were worried, right?] I'm feeling much better now. The sunburn has faded into a pseudo-tan and my sinuses are recovering. Now I just sound like a hoarse frog with a smokers cough but I'll manage.

Sunday we woke up, returned our car, and flew home. Note to self: never finish reading Marley and Me on a plane, in public. I was freaking balling like a baby but I played it off because my nose was already running anyway. That book is breathtakingly good and painful all at the same time. If you are a dog lover you must read it now but don't I say I didn't warn you.

So that was it: our one year anniversary trip. Full of good memories and many pictures. I would recommend San Diego to anyone but if we were to return, we'd plan a July trip instead:)

{whoo hoo! Today is our one year anniversary and Nate's first day of class. Much to celebrate, my friends}THURSDAY, May 22 [continued]

After our mega-marathon hike we decided to explore downtown San Diego, in the Gaslamp district. We ate at a fun little wood-fired pizza place and split a yummy bottle of vino. Nate demanded to check out Urban Outfitters, even though we vowed to stay away from all chain establishments. He ALMOST bought this pimped out 80s hat:

Our parking garage had levels named for foods, and we parked on the vegetable garage! I figured this was a perfect shot considering my new quest for raw veggies [not so much my quest on our vacation, but now I'm back in the swing of things]. Please note my 'slight' sunburn here only to worsen with time:

Next was the hotel bar for some martinis and good conversation with the bartender. I swear the people of San Diego were so freaking nice! They actually make eye contact and say 'hello' when you pass them on the street:

FRIDAY, May 23 [the coldest, rainiest day yet]:

When we woke up this morning we figured the sun HAD to come out just for a bit. But we were wrong and therefore, had to get creative. We decided to visit the Scripps Birch Aquarium, which is a small little university aquarium full of cool fish. We opted out of Sea World and the zoo just because it seemed a bit much for our tastes. At the aquarium I decided I'd make the best of our cold and rainy day by taking a butt load of pictures. For instance:

Besides the fact that it was overrun with grade school children the aquarium was pretty sweet. We then ventured out to Old Town, which is the old Mexican area near downtown. We heard stories of magnificent margaritas and fun touristy souvenirs and the stories were exactly right. Great Mexican food complete with Mariachi bands, margaritas, and sombreros. I think I look like Jim Halpert from The Office in this picture, but I like it anyway:Speaking of characters, look what Nate found in a shop! It's so him, right?But this baby would have been mine if I could've shoved it into our luggage for the ride home. Fabulous!Next we ventured over to Little Italy. I think this picture sums up the weather quite well. Just glorious, no?But we had a mission and we weren't about to fail. Blogging buddy and San Diego resident, Sharon, suggested that we try a place called Extraordinary Desserts. The name alone sold us despite the fact that we had no idea where this elusive restaurant was located. Of course we didn't bother to look up an address or get a phone number before we left the hotel--bah! After searching for nearly an hour, asking numerous friendly but confused people on the streets, and getting lost on the highway for a bit....we found it. And was it ever worth the trip:

So it was a very busy morning as we explored nearly all of San Diego:) That night we got ready for dinner and headed back over to La Jolla after spotting a local brewery. You can't beat microbrews and good old fashioned American food! It was fabulous and we even caught the tail end of a semi-decent sunset:

The last picture was supposed to be me, contemplating life. We are so artsy sometimes! One more installment covering the last full day-o-fun. I hope you are enjoying!

Even though it can be annoying to read three installments of our vacation experience, I didn't want to subject you to viewing 45 pictures in one little post. And thus, I split our trip up for you, my dear readers.

Let me start with this: San Diego is usually quite temperate, with the highs in the mid-70s and lows at 60 for this time of year. It never gets to my ideal point of "sweating as soon as you step out of the door" hot, but none the less, it's supposed to be warm in California, right? This basic assumption is one of the reasons we chose San Diego in the first place.

Well, apparently we brought the crappy weather with us on our trip. San Diego didn't know what hit them, because this was the coolest and cloudiest Memorial Day weekend they endured in years. Each day it never rose past 65 and most days hovered around 60 degrees. Not to mention the clouds, the rain, and the wind. People were seriously wearing ski hats, gloves, scarves, and heavy coats because it was 'freezing' according to the locals. When we informed them that we were haggard northerners from Wisconsin, they looked at us with pity and said, "Oh, well I guess this isn't so bad for you guys then." Actually, no----60 degrees isn't 'cold' by our standards, but it was certainly not expected. A girl can only pack so many fleeces and long sleeved shirts before she goes crazy on a 'warm weather trip.'

So lets begin with the visual evidence, shall we?

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21:

Here is the classic "OMG we are so excited to go on vacation, here we are on the plane" shot:And then we landed, waited in line for what seemed like hours while Hertz found us a car [where I nearly fainted due to low blood sugar. No seriously, I had to break out the trail mix to fend off a scene involving me and the floor]. Off to the beach we went!Ah yes, so beautiful. San Diego is hilly and boasts tons of rocky cliffs which bodes well for a tourist with a camera. When we first saw all the winding roads leading up to the top of giant cliffs we thought, "It must really suck to drive your car up there when it's snowing and icing during the winter." And then it hit us: these fools NEVER drive in the snow or ice. Their little hilly roads are easily maneuverable at all times of the year. Bastards!Sometimes I like to pretend I'm a photographer and pink flowers give me the urge every time. I don't know what type of plant this is, but I'm obsessed. St. Lucia had these too, so it must like warm climates. I want one!And speaking of yearnings....we found a few 'starter homes' in La Jolla. Can't you just picture us here? We could until we found out that the median price for a home in La Jolla is 1.8 million. GULP. The median, folks. And that is why we'll never leave the midwest.But we can still visit and snap pictures of our cute selves like nobody's business. The bag I'm holding shows that I loosened my purse strings and went shopping at a store called "Pink Zone". If ever there were a more perfect name....We were told that sea lions like to lay out on the La Jolla beaches and it didn't take us long to find the little buggers. Rough lives, huh?Quotes! On a walkway near the beach! I'm in heaven, I tell you!That night we ventured out to Prospect street in downtown La Jolla and ate sushi. Yummy, yummy sushi. The ice cream fanatic in my husband could not resist the nearby gelataria and I could not resist taking more pictures:I think this should be my profile pic on Facebook, don't you?

THURSDAY, MAY 22:

The next day we explored further north in a little area called Del Mar.We ate brunch at an adorable little cafe [you realize that a vacation is all about food, right? And we ate well, my friends]. Then we were off to hike the Torrey Pines state park. Hiking up a mountain next to the ocean doesn't suck. We are total badasses:)I like this picture because my hair is attacking Nate with spiky daggers. Pay attention to the ocean and not my daggers, people.Yep, pretty much paradise.The next picture tells a great story: Torrey Pines also hosts a high-class golf course that is going to host the US Open in few weeks. The course was shut down to prep for the prestigious tournament but my husband would not stop talking about it. "What if Tiger is there right now, practicing for the Open? Or maybe Phil is just hanging out waiting to meet me." You have to let a boy dream, right? When we came around the corner of our hike we saw this site:It was like a ray of sunshine broke from the clouds to shine down on the golf course. Nate is pointing to the greens while salivating at the mere thought of being so close to greatness. Can you see the neon grass? That is the source of my husband's excitement. I was a nice wife and agreed to visit the pro shop, which was open to the public. Few things in life make Nate as happy as shopping and golf and thus, the pro shop visit was probably his biggest highlight:)

I would like to point out that the skies were quite cloudy on this day. I managed to get a wee bit roasted during our hike but nothing shocking. I should have taken this as an omen for what was to come because who gets burnt in 60 degree weather with overcast skies? Apparently we do. Stay tuned for more San Diego fun:)

Please welcome the new addition to our household, Mr. iMac:The 20 inch screen is optimal for viewing fabulous websites. How did we ever survive with a 13 inch screen? The horror!And so, my friends, it's official: we are hemorrhaging money. Our bank account is crying out in protest but we are doing our best to ignore the screams. Because this is one pimp computer!

Our poor little laptop is quite jealous. She was functioning at her optimal level today until we brought home this bad boy. Now she refuses to turn on. Thank goodness we burned all of our important files and photos to DVDs last night! I think the only thing we didn't rescue was our iTunes library, but we can manage.

I'm taking a break from the 166 new posts I have yet to read on Google Reader to say that we are home. The 'just barely' comes in with the following facts:

~even though the weather was cloudy, chilly, and rainy [more on that later] we managed to get fried yesterday. Not one but two people stopped me in the airport to comment on my crispy chest---'That must hurt". Gee, you think? I quite like emitting heat waves from my body like a freaking radiator.

~Not only am I burnt but I'm sick! Last night I started feeling a scratchy throat coming on but I refused to believe it could turn into anything. I'm rarely sick, but when I am it ain't pretty. So now my head feels like someone opened up my skull and poured in some boiling hot lava. And my left ear is completely clogged---do you know how awful it is to hear your pulse through your ear drum? It's awful. But I'll live.

~My little laptop is living on borrowed time. She almost refused to turn on for me tonight and I have a feeling we'll be going to the Apple store very soon. I'm quite sad about this loss in our lives. She's been a good little laptop.

So that is all the bad news, I apologize for being so negative----the actual 'traveling' part of a vacation totally sucks if you ask me. Thank goodness I don't do it often.

The trip was fantastic and much enjoyed. I took approximately one million pictures and will have to upload them soon [possibly to a brand new computer!] for your merriment. So stay tuned for an uplifting post with pictures and humorous stories.

{Here is a pre-scheduled post to keep you entertained while we frolic in San Diego! I'm not actually sitting at a computer right now, don't worry. We'll be back late on Sunday and will come armed with glorious pictures.}

Sometimes it's the simple things in life that make me happiest. My life is certainly not exciting compared to some, but the everyday details are enough to make me smile. For instance:

1. A warm SPRING day. Yes, I said it. It's the season of spring. I packed away my sweaters and my bitterness towards Milwaukee. Then I pretended to be a photographer because things are blooming around here! You'll notice these pictures made it into my new blog layout:

2. Totally random websites discovered by old fashioned surfing. Like Natalie Dee and her freaking hilarious cartoons. I don't know why but this made me bust a gut!3. My boys. Please view the following pictures and try not to gag over the cuteness:

[also note Henry's Playboy pose here. Easy, tiger!]

I must say, life is good. Sunshine makes me happy and I enjoy kissing winter goodbye. And I hope that as you read this we are experiencing some major sunshine in California!